Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World: Volume 2 (Light Novel)

By Meikyou Shisui and tef

Light’s revenge tour takes him to the Elven Queendom, home of his former partymate Sasha. Her reward for leaving him for dead was riches, status, and a betrothal to Sir Mikhael, second-in-command of the queendom’s elite White Knights. To “congratulate” Sasha on her engagement, Light issues her a challenge: face off against him in a giant tower shaped like a wedding cake!

Although Sasha knows it’s a trap, she must rectify her former party’s mistake of leaving Light alive three years ago in order to preserve her new lifestyle. With Sir Mikhael and the White Knights in tow, she challenges Light and his crew of Level 9999 bombshells—plus a few new faces. Can they overcome the might of one of the world’s strongest nations?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J-Novel Club
• Release date: Feb 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781718354500

Book preview

Chapter 1: Sasha and Her Fiancé

The afternoon sunlight dappled through the trees onto an attractive elf couple who were sitting across from each other at a porcelain-white table on the lawn. With a maid waiting on the elves, the two took sips from their teacups in a refined manner and engaged in conversation that was every bit as pleasing to their palates as the tea.

And Light looked absolutely crushed when he found out we’d tricked him all along, Sasha said to her companion. He tried to run away, but one of my arrows stopped him in his tracks. Then he started bawling ‘You’re fakes! You must be fakes!’ Oh, darling, the expression on that inferior’s face was the most disgustingly pained one I’ve ever seen, yet at the same time, I couldn’t help but clutch my sides from the hilarity of it. I wish you could have been there with me to see it, Sir Mikhael.

Miss Sasha, it’s always such a gas hearing that story, no matter how many times you retell it, Mikhael said with a heartfelt smile on his face. "I wish I’d had the opportunity to see the face of that foolish inferior once he realized all of you had deceived him. My fellow knights and I occasionally go around razing inferior villages to the ground, killing all inferior travelers we meet on the way, as well as any other inferiors who witness us in the act and make a run for it. You are quite right when you say those creatures look uglier than normal when they are begging for their lives in the moments before we slaughter them. But they look so clownishly ugly, they make us laugh rather than cringe."

I know! I can almost see the faces of those inferiors now! said Sasha. Light looked downright ghastly the moment before we killed him, yet I couldn’t contain my laughter!

Mikhael—Sasha’s fiancé—was a member of the Elven Queendom’s royal family, though he was also the vice-commander of the White Knights, the nation’s most elite order. He kept his blond hair neatly trimmed and wore glasses that gave him a rather gentle, handsome look. Although Mikhael had the aura of an intellectual, he also had broad shoulders and a solid build befitting a White Knight officer. Put simply, he was a warrior-scholar of sorts.

Sasha and Mikhael shared a deeply held bond when it came to discussing how hilariously repulsive humans looked when on the brink of being slain, and they talked about it in much the same way as people exchanging thoughts on a comedy revue they’d enjoyed. Although the elves certainly made a beautiful couple to look at, their topic of conversation was unequivocally hideous. Yet Sasha and Mikhael both shared such a giddy appreciation for human suffering, the subject was always broached whenever they met for tea like this.

This Light Sasha mentioned was the same human boy her former adventuring party—the Concord of the Tribes—had duped into joining their ranks three years prior. Boasting a member from each of the nine races, the party had spent the following three months secretly investigating whether Light could be a Master, since he possessed magical abilities. The powers-that-be ultimately determined Light wasn’t a Master because his magical Gift—the Unlimited Gacha—produced nothing but junk items. Consequently, the order was sent down for the Concord to kill Light as a precaution, so the party tricked Light yet again, this time making him follow them into the Abyss, the world’s largest and deadliest dungeon. Once inside the dungeon, they attempted to assassinate Light, but the boy somehow managed to escape their clutches. Or to be more precise, Sasha embedded an arrow in one of Light’s legs, rendering him unable to run, and Garou the wolfman was just about to eviscerate the boy with his gauntlet-style blades when at the very last moment, the young human’s hand accidentally touched and activated a teleportation trap, which sent him to some other part of the Abyss.

The Concord searched every corner of the dungeon—aside from the most dangerous, practically impassable areas—but they weren’t able to find hide nor hair of Light. However, it remained an irrefutable fact that a human child who was unable to walk or run due to having an arrow through their leg had teleported to another part of the Abyss. The only fate that awaited Light was for a monster to catch the scent of his blood and devour him. The whole of the Concord agreed with the assumption that Light had died not long after being teleported, so they reported back to the higher-ups. On hearing the party’s account, the officials determined that there was little to no chance that Light could have survived, and wrote the boy off as deceased.

As her reward for disposing of a potential Master, Sasha got engaged to Mikhael. She also received a hefty sum of money that would guarantee her a life of opulence for the rest of her days. One slight downside was that Mikhael would never ascend to the throne due to the fact that the Elven Queendom was ruled exclusively by women, but nevertheless, he was still of royal blood.

On hearing about her newfound wealth and upcoming marriage into the royal family, Sasha’s family finally warmed to her after a lifetime of estrangement. Every time Sasha thought about their sudden change of heart, she had to hold her sides to suppress her laughter.

Oh gracious, your company is so delightful, I always lose track of time, said Mikhael, who got up from his chair to signal that this little tea party was over. The elf gazed at Sasha through his glasses and extended a genteel hand to her. Sasha responded by looking longingly into Mikhael’s handsome face as she felt her cheeks glow crimson. She took her fiancé’s hand and allowed him to help her to her feet, where she stood alongside him.

Mikhael lovingly clasped Sasha’s hand in his, a princely smile lighting up his face. I’m so lucky to have met you, Miss Sasha. Before our paths crossed, I found it exceedingly difficult to find any lady who would engage in such stimulating conversation with a brutish knight such as myself. I sincerely believe we are meant for each other.

I also feel very lucky to be your wife-to-be, Sir Mikhael, Sasha replied, returning his meaningful gaze. I’m so elated, this all feels like a dream.

You stole the words straight from my hungry lips, my dear, he said with a glint in his eye.

My goodness, Sir Mikhael, she replied bashfully.

Mikhael escorted Sasha to her horse-drawn carriage, though it was evident the pair didn’t want their tryst to end. Mikhael remained rooted to the spot as he watched the carriage go, until it finally disappeared over the horizon. Sasha also continued to wave at her fiancé through the carriage window until he was no longer visible. Although their engagement had been arranged by the queendom as part of Sasha’s reward, the two appeared to be the perfect couple.

As the carriage proceeded through the streets of the queendom’s capital, Sasha chatted away to an elf maid in her employ, with the occasional blissful sigh punctuating the conversation. Sir Mikhael was so wonderful today, she cooed.

Yes, I’m extremely envious that you are betrothed to him, milady, the maid said without missing a beat. You and Sir Mikhael are such beautiful people, and the two of you seem perfect together.

Sasha giggled, tickled by her maid’s flattery. Why, thank you. Hearing you say that makes all the effort I put into becoming the ideal woman for him worth it.

Sasha had gone to great lengths to make herself as beautiful and refined as she could be in preparation for her marriage to Mikhael, but most of her effort had been focused on raising her power level. When she first met her fiancé, Sasha had been hovering around Level 300, while Mikhael’s power level had exceeded 2000, which meant Sasha had to do something to close this sizable gap between them. For the past three years, she had been unable to tie the knot with Mikhael due to the difference in their power levels. During that rather lengthy time period, Sasha had shed blood, sweat, and tears, eventually reaching Level 500 (give or take), and the queendom had deemed this level suitable enough to fully sanction the union between Sasha and Mikhael.

You have most certainly pushed yourself beyond your limits for Sir Mikhael, milady, said the maid. Even though there is much still left to be done to prepare for the event itself, it warms my heart to know that, at the end of this year, you will be wed.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Sasha cautioned. The wedding is still a long way off.

Milady, if you don’t watch out, the day of the wedding will be on you before you know it, warned the maid. I don’t want to hear you can no longer fit into your wedding dress because your waist has ballooned outward.

Now you’re just being rude. That’s never going to happen, Sasha replied, before her attention was drawn to the fact the carriage she was in had started juddering. Hm? Why are we stopping all of a sudden?

The driver of the halted carriage hollered down to Sasha, Some inferior was loading stuff onto a carriage in front of a store, but he let everything collapse and it’s blocking our way.

Unbelievable... Sasha breathed.

An unforeseen accident was delaying Sasha’s trip home after her visit to Mikhael’s. The elf peered out the window and got visual confirmation that a bunch of items had indeed toppled from another carriage that was standing in front of a merchant’s store, and as her driver had said, the goods were strewn across the road, preventing her own carriage from going anywhere. An elf from the store in question was whipping the human slave that had caused the accident.

"You useless sonuvabitch inferior! he roared at the human. Reload those goods on the double!"

F-Forgive me, master, the slave said weakly. I’m tired from all the work I’ve had to do. If I could just have a little time to rest—

Talking livestock don’t get to ask for breaks! the elf roared. Now get to work!

The shopworker continued to whip the slave, who was curled up on the ground. None of the elves watching the scene felt the slightest bit of sympathy for the human. To elves, humans were merely slaves that could be bought cheaply, so their impression of this scenario was closer to seeing a handler correcting a wayward draft animal.

In the Human Kingdom, ninety percent of the subjects were peasant farmers, and because the kingdom mostly exported farm produce and little else, farmers faced a perpetual buyer’s market and never made much money. As such, poverty was widespread and families were forced to sell any children they couldn’t feed into slavery. In addition to this, many adult humans found themselves trafficked out of the kingdom in the same fashion due to this, that, or the other. Most elves looked down on humans because they exhibited the fewest abilities of all the nine races.

Even Sasha’s elf maid sighed with contempt at the sight. Honestly, this is why they’re called ‘inferiors.’ What other race is too stupid to load goods onto a carriage?

Not to mention, they’re too ugly and filthy for words, Sasha added.

If by chance, Light had been a real Master, I would’ve been forced to lure him into the queendom’s sphere of influence by seducing him. That would’ve meant letting a stupid, repulsive inferior have his way with me! Sasha thought with a shudder. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. I’m so glad Light was the real fake, and a dead one at that.

Thanks to Light’s demise, Sasha and Mikhael got engaged, and because Light ended up not being a Master after all, Sasha was on the verge of attaining the happiness she had strove for all her life.

At the very least, I should thank that inferior for my new life, Sasha thought. Garou got caught up in wondering what a Master was, like the idiot he is. Who wastes their time thinking about meaningless nonsense like that, anyway? The only thing that matters to me is that I’m happy. I simply don’t get that stupid beastman.

Sasha continued to reminisce about Garou, who she’d heard was the favorite to become the next chief of the wolfmen. I bet he’s still spending all his time drinking and womanizing, like he used to when we were in the Concord of the Tribes.

Sasha giggled at this highly plausible conjecture. While she was preoccupied with recalling events from three years prior, out of the corner of her eye, she spied a very familiar figure trying to look inconspicuous in a shadowy alley across the street. The figure quickly disappeared out of view. Sasha automatically turned to focus on the spot where she had seen the figure.

A short child with black hair, Sasha thought. Was that a human boy? And he looked almost like... An overwhelming psychological shock that felt like a blow from a blunt object reverberated through Sasha before she could finish her thought.

I’ll make a detour to get around this mess, so sit tight till I’ve maneuvered us around—milady?! the driver suddenly yelled out at Sasha, who ignored his protests and jumped out of the carriage.

M-Milady? the maid called after her.

Sasha ran clutching the hem of the dress she’d picked out specially for her visit to Mikhael’s. She dashed across the road without looking to get to the alley where she’d seen the boy, her reckless action drawing a scream from the people in an oncoming carriage that didn’t miss her by much. She completely ignored the commotion she’d caused and kept on running.

Milady! You’ll hurt yourself! the maid shouted after her. Sasha pretended not to hear her as she bounded into the alley in her full-length dress.

"You’re kidding me. You’ve got to be kidding me, right? Sasha muttered, her face pale. It can’t have been Light! I must be seeing things!"

In spite of her verbal denials, Sasha felt frantically compelled to find out who exactly she had seen standing in the alley, but when she reached it, she found the passage completely empty. Sasha had been a skilled tracker in her adventuring days, though, and she picked up the faint sound of unseen footsteps making their way down an adjoining alley. The elf followed the sounds like a bloodhound that had picked up the scent, and even though she was wearing a formal dress, she was swifter than most ordinary males, due to her power level being north of 500.

When Sasha turned the corner, the footsteps suddenly disappeared. It was like she was chasing a ghost. What? A dead end? she murmured. And I don’t see anywhere someone could hide either...

Sasha scoured her surroundings with her eyes, using every ounce of her scouting expertise to try to pinpoint even a whiff of this mystery boy, but there was absolutely nowhere the boy could be concealing himself in this dead-end alleyway. The area was free of trash, and any reasonable person could see at a glance that there was no possible hiding place here. Sasha kept turning her head this way and that to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, and that familiar act helped her to slowly regain her composure.

Was I really just seeing things? Sasha asked herself. I-I must have been. Light was a Level 15 inferior. There’s no way in hell he could’ve escaped the Abyss alive. And besides, it’s been three years now. He should’ve grown older since I last saw him.

If Light had survived his ordeal, he would’ve been a fifteen-year-old adolescent at this point. It was ludicrous to think he’d stay a small boy. Puberty would’ve made him taller, more muscular, and more masculine-looking.

Why would I even think he’s still a twelve-year-old? Sasha thought aloud. That delightful tea date with Sir Mikhael and my reminiscing about the Concord of the Tribes must have made me mix up another inferior kid with Light.

By this point, Sasha had completely convinced herself that she’d been worrying over nothing, though this theory did require her to passively ignore how a human child could have seemingly slipped out of this back alley at a speed that surpassed her own Level 500 abilities. Just as she was starting to calm down, Sasha finally spotted the piece of paper affixed to the wall in front of her. It had previously escaped her notice because buildings in the Elven Queendom were typically painted the same shade of white as the paper, and also because Sasha had been specifically on the lookout for a human boy. Sasha covered her mouth with a trembling hand and slowly walked up to the piece of paper to get a closer look at it.

Meet me at the Great Tower.

Light

Sasha let out a bloodcurdling scream as she realized the past had finally caught up with her.

Chapter 2: Sasha’s Past

Sasha’s father, the head of the Lockette family, was an unlanded aristocrat (although an elven noble typically oversaw a fiefdom, one could still attain this status if they held certain positions in the court of law, in the government, or as a high-level bureaucrat) who started an adulterous affair with a commoner and ended up impregnating her. That commoner gave birth to Sasha, and both were given a room in the Lockette estate. But due to their different social stations, Sasha and her biological mother had a horrible relationship with the matriarch of the household, the wife of Sasha’s father. The influence of their aristocratic mother also meant Sasha’s half sisters treated her and her mother as lesser beings, and throughout it all, Sasha’s father turned a blind eye to their ceaseless antagonism.

Sasha’s half sisters would laugh at her if they passed each other in the hallways, or splash water at her, or surreptitiously commit random acts of violence against her, out of sight of anyone who might possibly intervene. Each time, Sasha would run crying to her mother, but as they were both powerless to do anything about this treatment, the little girl would always receive the same reply: Just bear it.

Sasha’s mother willingly put up with the abuse until an illness claimed her life, her passing meaning she left behind an illegitimate child with no loving parent. Sasha’s mistreatment escalated until she reached adulthood, at which point, she was driven from the estate. However, banishment from that household had been the best possible outcome for Sasha. She’d wanted to become emancipated and escape that hellish environment much sooner, but her father wouldn’t allow it, since he’d softened public perception of his infidelity by pledging to raise Sasha until she was of age.

After being kicked out, Sasha supported herself by becoming an adventurer specializing in scouting, drawing on the skills she had developed while living at the Lockette estate. Sasha had managed to survive her childhood by avoiding practically all contact with her father’s wife, her half sisters, the callous servants, and all her other tormentors there. She had accomplished this feat by constantly scanning for their presence, and by holding her breath and concealing herself whenever they were nearby. Sasha’s gifts helped her to reach C-rank in near record time, and even though she found herself in mortal danger countless times while on quests, it was a thousand times better than living at the Lockette estate and putting up with the scorn and abuse that was rife within its walls. Sasha became known as something of a wunderkind among adventurers, which opened the door to a top-secret offer she found hard to refuse.

Search for a Master? she asked. And then, if the situation demands it, inveigle him?

Yes, Miss Sasha. We require your skills as an adventurer, as well as your beauty. It would please this nation greatly if you could lend us your strength.

This fateful conversation took place in a private room at the most expensive restaurant in the city where Sasha was active at the time. A seemingly friendly elf—who claimed to be an emissary from the queendom—was the one delivering the message. Her mission would be to find someone with the potential to be a Master, and then contact the authorities, who would launch an investigation into them. The preference among elves to have Masters join their bloodlines ran strong, so the queendom assigned Sasha to this task and instructed her to use her captivating looks and womanly wiles to do whatever it took to bring the Master over to their side.

When this proposition was first put to Sasha, her face scrunched up in abject disgust. Why are they telling me to physically seduce an inferior? she thought. Even for an elf, Sasha was extremely prideful—a temperament she’d developed after enduring withering contempt at the Lockette estate for all those years. Her consummate arrogance normally wouldn’t allow her to sleep with a human, even if it were in service to her nation, but the terms of the assignment the emissary presented her with at the restaurant changed the calculation in her mind.

This would be your compensation for successful completion of this mission, he told her.

"What?! Is all of this real? What shocked Sasha the most was reading the words marriage into the royal family."

The specifics of it were thus: if Sasha were to find a real Master and have a child with him, that offspring would marry into the royal family of the Elven Queendom. If Sasha found a Master, but the queendom ended up having the Master snatched out from under its nose by another nation, Sasha herself would be guaranteed a marriage to a member of the royal family. In other words, if Sasha gave birth to a daughter in either scenario, that daughter—or possibly, her daughter’s daughter—could very well ascend to the throne of the queendom.

Aside from that, the emissary detailed some other potential rewards that were just as preposterously generous—so much so, in fact, that they made Sasha gulp unwittingly. I don’t have much of a future if I carry on this adventurer life, she thought. I’ll never get the last laugh over my malicious sisters, their mother, and that wretched father of mine who abandoned both me and my mom. But if I complete this assignment...

Sasha had been presented with a chance to become a part of the royal family and potentially give birth to a future queen, which would grant her a social standing that would see her tower over the unlanded Lockettes, and thereby erase her dark past. If all went well, Sasha would become several degrees more powerful than her estranged family. Nothing could surpass such an intoxicating coup, and Sasha was sure the wine she would sip on the occasion of her triumph would be the sweetest thing she would ever taste in her life.

If Sasha remained as an adventurer, none of that would happen. After some hesitation, she finally blurted out her answer. I-I’ll do it! Please give me this assignment! And so began a new chapter in her life as a member of the Concord of the Tribes.

Masters were rare, and nations expended a lot of resources into finding these individuals. But if Sasha were being totally honest, she’d only taken on this top-secret assignment as a desperate, last-ditch effort to attain status. There were other organizations out on the hunt for Masters too, and they mostly got broken up after ten years if they still hadn’t found one—though the longest she’d heard of a group existing without turning up a Master was thirty years. Former members of those luckless groups were given a little bit of hush money after the fact. Although Sasha was largely hopeful that her new party would succeed in finding a Master, she was also prepared for failure.

But after a few years of searching, the Concord of the Tribes did hit upon a potential Master: a boy named Light. Before their encounter, Light was eking out a living by performing frequently dirty odd jobs, such as selling firewood, gathering medicinal herbs, trapping mice that were running amok in storehouses, cleaning out drainage channels, and carrying baggage. The Concord was able to entice the boy to join their party, but in the end, the secret investigation into him determined that Light was not a Master.

Once the Concord of the Tribes had returned from carrying out their orders to dispose of Light, the queendom rewarded Sasha with a handsome sum of money and the announcement of her engagement to Sir Mikhael. Although Mikhael couldn’t be said to be an immediate relation to the Queen, he was still of royal blood, and as his betrothed, Sasha had officially become part of the same household that was headed by a count with a higher social standing than her father. And to think, they used to curse me and call me a commoner’s daughter and a bastard child, Sasha thought gleefully.

On hearing of Sasha’s betrothal, her entire estranged family instantly started cozying up to her. Sasha’s father wished to advance his career, while her half sisters and their mother hoped Sir Mikhael could help to arrange marriages for them with other blue bloods. This complete volte-face came in spite of long years of abandonment, contempt, and outright bullying at the estate.

How can Light still be alive? Sasha said to herself as she arrived home after receiving his missive to her. This can’t be happening. If this were to become common knowledge...

Sasha owed her current fortunes to the Concord of the Tribes’ testimony that they had killed Light. If the ruling elite were to find out that